Devlinn Reiko-sama - Thanks for the continuous feedback. Hope you keep enjoying this story.

andrewjameswilliams - Glad you liked the last chapter and thanks for the support.

Iadc - Glad to hear you finally saw the movie. I've watched it a couple of times this past week! Glad to hear you like Jon just as much as me. Also thanks for the review on Painful Memory. I actually have a plan for at least one more chpater but I'm kind of stuck right now (chapter 13 has a little over a page written). Hopefully my writer's block on that chapter will go away soon.

Queenof the Elven City - I thought Mr. Perfect fit Scott perfectly so I just had to use it! And thanks for the wonderful compliment!!!!

thunderbirdgirl -Glad to hear you're enjoying the story.

bograt - here's another update for you. Glad you liked the part with Alan feeling ill. I thought it was a nice touchmyself and i'm glad someone else liked it too.

Fiona12690 -I read and reviewed a couple of your stories.I enjoyed them (okay well the second one wasn't finished so I would've enjoyed it more with an ending - hint hint). Hope you keep enjoying this story.

kitkat Tictac - Thanks for reading and reviewing my story. Its nice to knowpeople are enjoying it.

PsychoSpiff01 - Thanks for letting me know you're reading the story and I'm glad you liked the idea. Hope you keep enjoying the story.

John's POV:

"But its like being here with a complete stranger," I heard Alan tell our father. I knew he was referring to me before my Dad even had a chance to reply.

"He's your brother, Alan," my father told him.

"Hi Dad," I said casually as I joined them in the corridor trying to be casual about it. I was positive that Alan's words had not been intended for my ears. As far as I was concerned I hadn't heard anything not that it really mattered. There were plenty of times that I felt like a stranger to my family. I couldn't blame Alan for feeling that way toward me.

"Hello, John," my father said putting his arms around me in an embrace. As much as I enjoyed the time I spent alone up here I had to admit there were times when I got lonely. I was thankful that my family is a very open family. Whenever I saw my father or brothers after being a part for awhile we always hugged. It was a nice thing to come home to especially after weeks of being in space with just me and the computers.

As we hugged I was aware of Alan dropping his bags and running off. I had thought he looked a little green as I had walked down the corridor. He definitely wasn't the first Tracy to get space sickness although I had a feeling that nerves probably wasn't helping that situation any.

"Are you sure you want to do this John?" I heard my father ask as I pulled away from him.

"Now more than ever Dad," I told him. I knew my father knew what I meant by that comment. Knew that I had overheard the exchange between him and Alan.

"Okay," he said nodding. "But if things get too out of hand . . ." he started to say and then let his voice trail off.

"We'll be fine Dad. How much trouble can a fifteen year old get into on a space station?" I asked him.

"I don't know. He did blow up a school though," my father said.

"Believe me I'm not going to give him the chance," I told him shaking my head. Poor Alan was never going to live that one down. "He'll be fine Dad."

"Its not him I'm worried about," my father said looking at me. I could see the concern in his eyes. I knew my father loved all of us but I also knew he was a little more protective of me. Maybe it was because I was the least outgoing of all of us. Or the fact that growing up I had always been trying to break up the fights between my brothers. Even Alan, who I hardly saw since taking over Thunderbird 5, I tried to protect from my brother's teasing when I could. Or maybe it was because after Mom's death I was the one he started to confide in. I knew the things he told me via comm late a night he didn't always tell Scott, or Virgil, or Gordon. Exactly what it was I didn't know and I would never ask him that.

"This will be good for the both of us," I told him trying to reassure him. It was a reassurance that I didn't really feel myself. I remembered how moody I had been as a teenager, not to mention Virgil and Gordon, and I knew from conversations with my Dad that Alan was no better. In fact Alan, was a lot like Scott. Being only two years younger than Scott I remembered all the trouble Scott got into when he was Alan's age. Did I really have the patience to deal with him.

"Do you want me to check on him before I leave,' he asked me nodding in the direction Alan had disappeared.

"That won't be necessary," I told him. "I can handle it," hoping once again I was pulling off a confidence that I sure didn't feel inside.

"Okay then," my Dad replied. "Seriously though John, if you need help don't hesitate to call," he told me walking back into the docking tunnel.

"I won't," I said as he disappeared into Thunderbird 3.

As the door cycled shut behind him I picked up Alan's bags. I took the bags to the sleeping quarters of the station and put them onto one of the bunks. Then I went looking for Alan.

As I thought I found him in the bathroom. He was just standing up from kneeling over the toilet.

'At least he looks a little less green', I thought to myself as I grabbed a washcloth from the nearby cabinet, wet it and handed it to him.

"Feeling any better?" I asked him as he took the wash cloth from me.

"Yeah, a little," Alan told me. I could here an edge of distrust in his voice. It was almost like he was waiting for me to say something else. "What no wise crack?" he finally asked me.

"I'm not like that Alan," I told him knowing now where he was coming from and he was right. The other three would have been teasing him despite the fact that with the exception of Virgil, everyone of us had been sick the first time up here. "Being in space for the first time is disorienting but you get use to it. And the nerves don't help any."

"Nerves. Whose nervous," Alan said his normal cocky attitude coming back. The attitude I knew he had to have learned from Scott. I just smiled. I remembered what it was like to be that age.

"Let me show you around," I told him walking out of the bathroom and back down the corridor. Alan followed me without another word.

Alan's POV:

I laid in bed that night staring up at the ceiling. I could hear John's slow even breathing across the room from me. I wished I could fall asleep that easily.

Instead, I was awake with my thoughts. For starters, the station was too quiet. Even on the island the nocturnal animals kept the place from getting too quiet. Then there was also the problem of the stream of thoughts going through my head. All the work I had to do for school, all the things John had told me on his tour of the station. I had no clue how he, or any of the others for that matter, kept everything straight and I had thought the other Thunderbirds were complicated. Still, despite all the computers and monitoring equipment there was nothing going on up here.

No wonder Scott, Virgil and Gordon all hated it up here. If I thought I was left out of the action down on Tracy island, I was even more removed up here. The only reason I could even think of that John would like it up here is because of his experiments. Although I wasn't about to say admit it to him, his experiments actually interested me. John had suggested that I use one of them for the science paper I had to write. I had just nodded feigning disinterest. Part of me was still waiting for him to start teasing me about the fact that I was failing classes and science at that.

"I'm not like that Alan."

I don't know why but those were the words that kept echoing in my mind. I guess I was just so use to getting teased by my older brothers that I thought of that as normal. The fact that John hadn't said one teasing remark yet seemed weird. Maybe Gordon was right. Maybe John really didn't have a sense of humor.

Even a week up here was going to drive me crazy. Dad was definitely right about less distractions up here. I was starting to wonder what the point was of having the space station even was. To me it just seemed like a waste of resources.

All of a sudden I heard a klaxon go off. As I sat up in bed, John was already out of his bed and heading for the door to the room. I had lived of Tracy island long enough to know that now was not the time to start asking questions. Still I threw the blanket back and headed toward the control room. I at least wanted to know what was going on.

"Mayday. Repeat, this is the Titanic 2, we're taking on water. We are abandoning the ship but the seas are getting rougher. We require immediate assistance. Does anyone read me," came the panicked voice over the computer.

"Titanic 2, I copy," John said into the transmitter. "This is International Rescue. I'm dispatching help to your location now."

"Thank-you International rescue," came the very relieved sounding answer as I heard the beep that signaled an incoming call from Tracy Island.

"John what's going on?" my father asked as John closed one channel and opened the channel to the island.

"We've got a cruise ship, the Titanic 2, going down in the Carribean, in the Bermuda Triangle to be exact," John told him. "The ship is located about two hundred fifty miles north-northwest of the eye of Hurricane Alex."

"Is the storm still moving west?" I heard my father ask.

I saw John quickly glance at a monitor before answering.

"Negative Dad. Hurricane Alex is now moving north-north west at eight miles an hour. Right for the cruise ship."

"F.A.B. John. We're on our way. Keep an eye on the storm for us and notify the coast guard. We're going to need help with the evacuation."

"F.A.B.," John replied as Dad's face disappeared from the screen.

As John got a hold of the coast guard I inched forward. I wanted to see what was going on without getting in the way. As I looked past John at the screens and panels in front of him I couldn't figure out how he could make sense of it all. It just seemed like a jumble of non-sense to me. I looked to the one screen that I could remember what it did from when John was going over things right after I arrived. It was the screen that monitored the other Thunderbirds when they were in the air.

As I watched a blue and then green dot appeared on the screen representing Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 2 respectively. A separate system was needed so the Thunderbirds could be monitored even with the anti-detection shields activated.

"I've got the ship in sight," came Scott's voice over the comm system a little while later. "The aft of the ship is halfway submerged and we have multiple life boats already in the water," he reported.

"FAB Scott, we're right behind you," I heard my Dad say.

Once again I was watching a mission unfold and how I wanted to be a part of it. This time though I was seeing more than any news broadcast could show. This definitely opened my eyes even more to what my father and brothers did and I was starting to see how important the station was as John kept an eye on everything and relayed vital information to them.

I don't know how long I was lost in my own thoughts when Scott's voice pulled me out of it.

"Thunderbird 1 to Thunderbird 2, I have to pull out. I'm losing power in one of the engines," there was a pause before he said, "Thunderbird 2 do you copy."

There was no answer. I found myself looking at the screen wanting to make sure that Thunderbird 2 was still in the air. I saw the green dot and wondered why Dad hadn't replied to Scott's radio call.

"Dad can you hear me?" came Scott's voice again as I could see Thunderbird 1 going away from the rescue area on the monitor as by this time the Thunderbirds could be picked up by conventional radar. I could also hear an edge of panic in it which scared me even more. Scott always had an air of confidence about him no matter what.

"Thunderbird 5 to Thunderbird 1, I copy." John said until the radio.

"Thank-god some one can hear me."

"Can you make it back to base?"

"I hope so," came Scott's less than confident voice.

"Thunderbird 1 what's going on?" I heard my father's voice ask over the radio. He must have notice Thunderbird 1's retreat. "Scott can you hear me. John do you have radio contact with Thunderbird 1?"

"FAB dad. Thunderbird one is experiences engine difficulties and is returning to base."

"FAB. Keep me apprised of the situation."

Before John could reply to Dad's last order a call came in from Scott.

"Mayday! I've lost engine power! I'm going down!"

"Scott," John called into the radio but didn't get another reply. "Thunderbird 2, I just got a distress call from Thunderbird 1. Dad Scott just went down."

I could feel the lump forming in my throat. Had I just lost a brother?